First-time flyer Nick Lewis says travelling into the Peruvian jungle was nerve-racking, but his return to Sarnia was a gentle voyage following a three-week, mind-altering experience with traditional 'medicine."I was relaxed," said Lewis, 22.He chose a personal retreat in Peru based on Internet research, believing it would help with his mental turmoil.

Despite having completed six years of Chinese history classes at high school, Shen Di had to once again bury her nose in history after signing up as a tour guide at the Old City of Hetu Ala. Her mission: to delve deeper into the birth of China's last imperial dynasty."We didn't study this in such detail in school," the 21-year-old Shen says, during a tour through a 500-meter-long covered walkway, its walls painted with scenes depicting the rise of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), as well as its traditional Manchurian culture.

A living history village providing a glimpse into the lives of historic Catawba Indians is one new attraction aimed at transforming the York County reservation into a prominent tourist draw.The improvements could help make the reservation, located east of Rock Hill on the Catawba River, into a potential "flagship" tourism destination, attracting visitors to the state and to York County, tourism officials say.

The 4th Jeju Haenyeo Festival took place on Oct. 15 and 16 at the Haenyeo Museum in Hado-ri and nearby Sehwa Port.A much larger event than in previous years, the express purpose of the festival, according to Dr. Choa Hye-Gyoung of its organizing committee, was to contribute to the preservation of the diving women's culture through increased awareness and, ultimately, renewed inter-generational transmission.

ST. LOUIS—The feathers, the jewelry and the mighty buffalo began to disappear many sunsets ago, but the spirituality of Native peoples is so strong that it remains intact.Chiefs, medicine priests, tribal elders and others intimate with ancient spirituality say that even though many Native peoples embrace Christianity and other religions, they still hold on to their traditional spiritual beliefs. Today, however, many also incorporate Native spirituality with European, African and Asian religions.